Product Description

2007 Gibson Custom Shop L-5CES Wes Montgomery

The flagship carved archtop from Gibson, in the signature format for Wes Montgomery of a single neck pickup. The interior label is dated December 11, 2007 and signed by James Hutchins, a legendary luthier and production manager who's builds have become increasingly sought after. "Hutch", as he was known, actually built many of the fixtures used to produce the archtop guitars, many of which are still in use at the Custom Shop. This a true heirloom piece with highly figured solid maple for the sides and back, flamed maple for the three piece neck, and a carved solid spruce top. All of these materials are top notch in appearance, they were surely hand selected by the team at Gibson. The flame maple is very uniformly figured , which is impressive on such a large guitar, and very clean with little flecking and straight grain. The instrument is bursted throughout, with a wonderful gradient in each spot. The top and back are particularly vibrant in the tone of the finish and the neck has a great blend of finish into the stinger on the back of the headstock. It is dressed up in the typical attire of an L-5 with multi-ply body binding, pearl block inlays, the iconic flower pot headstock inlay, and multi-ply neck and headstock binding with the "bird beak" nib as the end of the fretboard extension.

The guitar presents in great condition but shows signs of use and handling upon closer inspection. The top has very fine scratching in the clear coat, particularly in the pick wear areas and guard. There are a few spots of fine lacquer checking. One is a short line from the nib of the bass side F hole towards the bridge with another emanating from the upper bulb of the same F hole in the direction of the bridge also. Two lines of checking emanate from the mounting post for the pickguard at the fretboard extension, one merging into the binding and the other traveling up onto the neck and terminating at the 14th fret. The back has some fine scratching into the clear coat and one small ding just near the endpin. The back of the headstock has a chip on the tip of the treble side and a small ding just next to the serial number stamp on the bass side. The headstock face shows a fair amount of scratching with some lacquer checking outlining the inlays and an oblong ding just above the Gibson logo to the bass side. That hardware is in respectable condition, with a touch of gold worn off of the bass side of the ABR-1 bridge. The tailpiece is the most worn component, with the gold very faint if not worn away completely. Clearly this Wes Mo was played, but lovingly cared for and most likely case kept. The neck pickup is a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover, it appears the solder joints to the cover were touched up. It is hard to identify whether this may have been a factory work around to convert an on hand pickup to match the gold hardware or if an after market installation used the original pickup cover and screws. The guitar resides in a Gibson USA case, which may be original to the guitar as it was just around this time that the Custom Shop was transitioning to a proprietary case for their archtops.

Serial Number 20588001

7 lbs 6 oz

.82" at the first fret to .94" at the ninth fret

Brown case with pink interior

COA included

A great example of Jim Hutchins handiwork, would make a great number one instrument or a fabulous addition to a collection!

Product Specifications

• Hand Carved Spruce Top
• Hand Carved Figured Maple Back
• Figured Maple Sides
• Figured Maple Neck
• Ebony Fingerboard
• Mother of Pearl Block Inlays
• Gibson Schaller-style Tuners
• ABR-1 Bridge with Ebony Base
• L-5 Tailpiece
• Wes Montgomery Engraved Tailpiece Insert
• Tortoise Pickguard
• Single Neck Humbucker
• One Volume & One Tone Control
• Cutaway Body
• 17" Wide Body
• Top and Back Carved by James Hutchins

Product Details